tips and tricks

If there's one thing that I love about selfies, it's that I'm in more photos with my kids now than I ever was before. And as I get older and my kids get older, it's those photos I treasure the most, even more than their sweet homemade gi…

We are always looking for ways that we can live a greener lifestyle with our families, but trust us, we know how overwhelming it can be. As we've discovered over the years, it's the small things that can really add up -- in effort and at…

When my friend Anna , who is my go-to source for everything related to time management mentioned Boomerang for Gmail , I figured it was worth a shot. And wow...consider my life changed. If you're a Gmail user who finds yourself sometimes…

Spring cleaning fever has hit hard at my house and this week I've purged closets, vacuumed under furniture, and checked the expiration date on every canned good and spice in my pantry. Goodbye, can of beans that expired in 2012. Now I'm …

Hold the phone! No, seriously. Hold the iPhone, because there's something new(ish) and neat and cool happening with its Message app that you'll definitely want to hear about if you haven't yet. While this fun feature has been around sinc…

Do you have some basic tech chore to do -- say, deleting old digital photos -- but you just never seem to find the time to get to it? It's like permanently etched in your to-do list, and every time you scroll through your loaded smartpho…

I'm always a bit leery of apps the moment they ask to have access to my location. Sure, it makes sense with Google Maps , weather apps and certain social apps that help me locate a specific store or get a restaurant review. Those kinds o…

Truth be told, I abandoned my BlackBerry for the iPhone specifically because of Instagram. And, believe me, I was quite the keyboard-over-touchscreen loyalist. But the lure of the obvious fun of sharing square photos -- with filters! -- …

When I post a picture of my kids to Facebook, I tend to tag my husband, my parents and in-laws, maybe even aunts and uncles. If I want them to see the picture, I tag them. Because until yesterday, there hasn't been a way to officially ta…

I've often wondered if I've had a bit of a smartphone addiction, seeing as how my iPhone often functions as my third arm. Or second brain. As a busy work-at-home-mom who runs her own business, my smartphone allows me freedoms that I woul…

See below for a breaking update about the Burnbook app If you haven't yet heard of the Burnbook app , it's the latest anonymous social app that's causing a stir among teens and parents and even law enforcement around the country. Next in…

This week I was reading a post from one of our favorite app developers, Toca Boca , about how actively they try to create gender-neutral apps, and I was really impressed learning just how much effort they put into it. Like the sketch the…

We are so excited about (and kind of in awe of) so many of the things that computers are doing for our kids, but the reality is, sometimes we need help managing their screen time. So many readers have written to us thanking us for tips l…

If you're like me and watch Netflix on your computer or use it to browse easily and add titles to your queue, then you will want to add the new God Mode bookmarklet to your browser right now. This makes it so you can actually see all the…

Sure, Spring Break is cool when you and the family are jetting off somewhere fun, but what about those of us who decide to stay close to home? Are we not entitled to enjoy some rollin' good times, too? Short answer: Yes! Indeed, we are. …

As a full-time working mom, one of the toughest things for me about going back to work after having my babies was, well, going back to work. You're reacclimating to a work schedule on a paltry amount of sleep that would constitute tortur…

As much as I love my iPhone and how much it really helps me as a parent, it can also be a huge distraction. Don't get me wrong, as someone who runs a business and works on a computer all day long, I really do love how much freedom it giv…

If there's one thing that will throw off my whole zen vibe, it's seeing that "you're out of memory" alert pop up on my tech devices when I try to download an app or take a video. I almost want to turn to my gadget and say: You're the sma…

Ready for the best tips to help you spring clean your tech? Hey, it doesn't even have to be spring. The way we are constantly putting our hands all over the faces of our smart devices, you would think we were John Travolta at the Oscars.…

I admit it, I'm an app junkie, and so are my kids. But the in-app purchase prompts on some of our favorite games drive us all crazy.Because even when you've disabled in-app purchases on the devices your kids use (you have, right?), the a…

A few months ago I updated my will, and while I was figuring out which child would inherit my prized handbag collection, my smart lawyer asked me about my social media accounts: Who would I want to handle them after my death? What would …

Around here, we're all starting to wonder whether TV will continue to be relevant to our kids who are growing up in the age of online media. In fact, next to playing Minecraft, my tweens' favorite way to spend their screen time is watchi…

One of the reasons I love Twitter is because it really does give you the most up-to-date real time updates, and with the huge impending snowstorm 2015 headed my way, it makes it super helpful to stay on top of the weather. Parent transla…

Ever wonder how to unsend an email, say... you hit send on an email, and then realize you had a typo, sent it a little too soon or included the wrong information? Or worse, wrote something and accidentally sent it to the last person you'…